Abstract

Florida’s high school marine biology curriculum requires a study of the ocean currents. In addition to the traditional method of supplying maps to label current names and temperatures, students participated in “The Bottle Lab.” This experiment required students to write messages to include the month/year bottles were placed at one mile intervals in the Gulf of Mexico. When possible, students wrote in multiple languages (English, Spanish, French, Creole and German). The bottles were labeled and paraffin sealed. Bottles were retrieved west to Texas, east to the French coast, and south to Cuba’s north shore. Students learned the concepts of dedication to education and commitment to learning when listening to the Skipper who sailed the bottles into the Gulf of Mexico and communicating with soldiers in the Gulf War.